Encaustic transfer effects
Here are some test pieces I made to show the effects you can get using a variety of photo transfer and embedding techniques with encaustic.
1. Office Paper
The roughed-up/tattered-edge look in the image below is characteristic of photos transferred onto an encaustic surface from office paper. They can have a vintage charm.
This image of a rusty pipe was transferred from laser printed office paper onto a prepared encaustic surface using water and a few simple tools. © Laura Tyler
2. Baker’s Parchment
You can get a range of effects from crisp to ghostly by transferring images from baker’s parchment.
Image transferred from baker’s parchment to encaustic. The creamy substrate is printmaking paper adhered to a birch plywood panel. © Laura Tyler
3. Rice Paper
A quick and simple way to incorporate small chunks of photography into your encaustic work is to print your images on rice paper and embed them. Since bubbles can be an issue (they get trapped under larger pieces of paper) this is a technique best suited to those who enjoy working with discrete pieces of imagery as opposed to whole sheets.
Image printed on rice paper and embedded in encaustic. The bright white substrate is encaustic gesso applied to a birch plywood panel. © Laura Tyler
4. Printmaking Paper
Photos printed directly on an absorbent fine art paper like Stonehenge and mounted on a rigid panel can integrate beautifully with encaustic. The drawback to this technique is that it positions the photograph on the bottom layer of the artwork whereas transfers can happen on any layer.
Image laser printed onto Stonehenge, adhered to a plywood panel and coated with encaustic. © Laura Tyler
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